Creative Marketing Strategies in Building the Brand Image of Value-Based Educational Institutions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54065/jss.6.4.2026.1453Keywords:
Creative Marketing, Brand Image, Consumer Insight Alignment, Customer Retention, Value-Based EducationAbstract
The growing competition among educational institutions and the increasing use of digital media have made it important for value-based schools to develop distinctive and credible brand images while maintaining their educational and moral values. However, limited attention has been given to how creative marketing integrates digital communication, customer retention-oriented engagement, and parental consumer insights within value-based educational contexts. This study explores how creative marketing contributes to brand-image formation, focusing on digital creative execution, customer retention-oriented practices, and consumer insight alignment as an interpretive mechanism. A qualitative case study was conducted at Labs School Kaizen, Indonesia. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 15 informants comprising management representatives, marketing staff, and parents, complemented by observation and analysis of 124 social media posts over six months. Interview data generated 286 coded segments; value-based positioning accounted for 78 coded segments (27.3%), indicating a recurring emphasis on the integration of spiritual and academic values. Social media analysis used individual posts as the unit of analysis, with student storytelling comprising 35 of 124 posts (28%), parenting education 27 posts (22%), and parent testimonials 22 posts (18%). Triangulation of interview, observation, and documentation data indicated that these communication practices were associated with ongoing parent engagement, trust-building, and institutional advocacy. Consumer insight alignment, particularly regarding parental concerns about moral development and aspirations for academic–spiritual integration, functioned as an interpretive link between institutional positioning and brand perception. The findings suggest that, within this case, value-based positioning, digital creative execution, relational engagement, and consumer insight alignment operate as interconnected processes in institutional brand formation. The study contributes to educational marketing communication by offering an in-depth case interpretation of trust-based branding in value-based education.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Ariska Dwi Oktavia, Grace Theo Fany Dagambir, Peter Julio Tarigan, Yohanes Budi Sarwoko
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